Cinema Femme’s Most Anticipated Films at the 2025 New Orleans Film Festival
Rental Family, directed by Hikari Set in modern-day Tokyo, “Rental Family” follows an American actor (Brendan Fraser) who struggles to find purpose until he lands an unusual gig: working for a Japanese ‘rental family’ agency, playing stand-in roles for strangers. As he immerses himself in his clients’ worlds, he begins to form genuine bonds that […]
Sundance 40: Co-directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie capture the generational impacts of Native boarding schools in their award-winning doc “Sugarcane”
Co-directors Julian Brave NoiseCat and Emily Kassie won the jury prize for directing in the U.S. documentary category for their debut feature as collaborators. A well-deserved award, NoiseCat and Kassie delicately weave together a multigenerational story about the long-lasting effects of Indian boarding schools on Native peoples. “Sugarcane” takes place largely on a reserve in […]
Morrisa Maltz takes us on a road trip with Lily Gladstone in “The Unknown Country”
I love road trip films, especially the ones that take place in the United States and showcase places that are not often seen in films. In 2020, when we all were stuck at home, Chloé Zhao’s film “Nomadland” was a breath of fresh air, enabling us to see nature through the eyes Frances McDormand’s traveling […]
TRAILER RELEASES! Elevating Indigenous stories onscreen with “War Pony” and “The Unknown Country” | Opens in theaters July 28!
WAR PONY WAR PONY follows the interlocking stories of two young Oglala Lakota men growing up on the Pine Ridge Reservation. At 23, Bill just wants to make something of himself. Whether it’s delivering goods or breeding Poodles, he is determined to hustle his way to the “American Dream”. Meanwhile, 12-year-old Matho can’t wait to become a […]
Rebecca Harrell Tickell on “Prancer,” “Regenerate Ojai” and “On Sacred Ground”
With over two feet of snow piled upon the driveway, I spent this past Christmas Eve with my wife, Cinema Femme founder Rebecca Martin Fagerholm, binging holiday perennials at her parents’ cozy home in Holland, Michigan. Well into the evening, we decided to watch a picture that I hadn’t seen since my childhood, John D. […]
Sundance 2023: Erica Tremblay on her debut feature “Fancy Dance”
Making her first feature film at 42, Indigenous filmmaker Erica Tremblay is pissed off she hadn’t got the opportunity sooner. Despite being told ‘no’ many times, she kept going and continued on making her own short films, and eventually landed in the writer’s room of “Reservation Dogs.” Her feature film “Fancy Dance” centers around a […]
Sundance 2023: Razelle Benally on representation behind the camera and her new docuseries “Murder in Big Horn”
Co-Director Razelle Benally was inspired by her roots in her Oglala Lakota and Diné culture to connect with other Indigenous communities and share a larger story of Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women that is happening across all of Native America. Her new Showtime series focuses on the stories of three missing and murdered young Indigenous […]
“Sisters Rising” Co-Directors Willow O’Feral and Brad Heck on the power of documentary storytelling for the audience and themselves
“Sisters Rising” is an intimate portrait of 6 Native women who have survived sexual violence and/or domestic violence in their lives, and how that has transformed them. Through their trauma, they have become inspiring women who are fighting to help other women in their communities by providing support, sharing their stories, and working to change […]
Our top 10 recommended films to see at The 58th Chicago International Film Festival! (10/12 – 10/23)
Cinema Femme is based out of Chicago, and every year we make sure to promote our top recommendations for The Chicago International Film Festival. We’ve featured interviews with female and non-binary filmmakers in past years of the festival. Our list below is based on our previous coverage and the buzz around the films. Most of […]
A Conversation with “7 Days” producer Liz Cardenas
May 1, 2022 The Q&A took place for the 4th edition of Cinema Femme Short Film Festival as part of our Tribute Event series. Cinema Femme Festival Director Rebecca Martin talks to producer Liz Cardenas about her impressive career in independent cinema. Cardenas has been paving a path in the industry by supporting gems like […]
Top ten films directed by women to watch for in 2022!
We are taking a beat after our short film fest to share the 2022 female directed films we cannot wait to see. All of these films will either be premiering at a 2022 film festival or will soon be coming to streaming platforms or theaters. The list is in no particular order, just the ten […]
The 50 best films of 2021: Part 2 (25 – 1)
This is Part 2 of our top 50 films of 2021. Here we showcase the top 25. To read more about what motivated our list and part 1, see link. #25 “Adrienne” – a documentary about filmmaker Adrienne Shelly “Adrienne” is a loving portrait of the filmmaker Adrienne Shelly, who was on her way to […]